This Thing Called Life
by Origami Stars
Summary: Sometimes this thing called life gets in the way of our plans. This is how Kick and Kendall deal with the stuff that is thrown at them and eventually get along with each other. Kick/Kendall
1. Interruptions Via Younger Siblings

A/N: To make things easier to understand, Kick is a junior in high school and Brianna is a seventh grader. Brad is almost out of college and wants to become a police officer. He is twenty-two. I know Kick is ten and Brianna is eight in the original show, but I put three years and eight months between them because I can.

I do not own Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil.

o0O0o

Kick was busy in his family's living room combing through all the scientific equipment Kendall brought over for their joint physics project. Kendall and Kick had been in a set up in their physics class much like the time they had to dance together in middle school. She and Kick both didn't have partners, so… here they were. Once they had decided on an actual project to work on (which Kick had only liked because he got to use his skates and skateboard), they agreed that they would work on it at Kick's house, as his parents were used to him tearing up their yard with stunts.

Kendall hadn't changed much over the years; personality-wise or even physically. Sure, she had grown up like her peers and was much more mature than the lot of them, but she was still the hard working, straight A honors student she was in grade school. She kept her hair long and always wore her comfy sweaters and skirts.

Ever since Brad had gone off to college, Kick had had responsibility constantly thrust on him. It meant he couldn't do stunts as often, though he continued to do them even now. He actually wore normal clothing instead of his famous jumpsuits- those were reserved for his stunts- and he would even leave his helmet at home. Right now he was in jeans and a loose shirt. He was in sock feet and had a normal short cut for his hair.

"Kick! Kick!" Brianna Buttowski ran up to her brother and stopped just behind him. She still hadn't grown out of her 'Tina Sometimes' phase and she regularly performed in pageants, talent shows, and recitals. She often had Kick help her in those and they always did their best. She was also a player on her middle school basketball team, despite being quite short, like her brother.

"Go play, Brianna, I'm busy." Kick had his back to her as he adjusted something and waved her off.

"Busy with your _girlfriend_?" Brianna had already seen Kendall walking around outside, going to and from her house with physics stuff. Kick sighed and turned around to look at Brianna.

"She's not my girlfriend, Bri. I have a project in physics and she's my partner." He placed a hand on his hip.

"But you promised me that you would play with me today!" Brianna stomped her foot, her hands in fists by her side as she glared at him. He knelt down to her level and spoke to her gently, as an older brother should.

"I know, Bri. I still will, but we need to work on this project for a while first, ok?"

"When will you be done?"

"Probably around seven or eight. Just hang out till then."

"But 'Tina Sometimes' is on then!" She wrung her hands and gave Kick her best puppy dog pout.

"Bri, you're twelve, almost thirteen! Aren't you a little old for that?" he asked, rolling back to the balls of his feet.

"Well my birthday's in October and right now it's March. Besides, you're seventeen, aren't you old enough for a girlfriend?" She placed her hands on her hips as Kick gave her a playful glare.

"Yeah. I went there." She smirked at him.

"Bri, I told you, I have to work on this project. I'll play with you when we're done." He stood up and started to turn away.

"But by then it'll be too late!" She grabbed his hand and pulled; he turned back and gave her an irritated stare.

"Then I'll play with you tomorrow! We need to work on this project!" He took his hand back and folded his arms across his chest, making his way to the table with all the physics equipment.

"But you promised that you would do it tonight!"

"Brianna. I can't. This project is worth an exam grade, ok? It needs to look good and it will take a while." He was messing with the stuff on the table, which also had his skateboard and roller blades next to it.

"But it's only eleven in the morning!" At that point, Kendall came stumbling in the front door with her arms full of more physics equipment.

"Oh for the love of-! You know what?" Kick's hands flew to his hair and he bent forward slightly in frustration.

"What?" Brianna looked at him hopefully.

"If I play with you for half an hour, will you leave us in peace to work on this project?" He noticed Kendall when she nearly tripped over a video camera and took some of the equipment from her. He put it down and went back to his sister- Kendall wasn't really listening to what Kick was saying, but she was thankful and slightly surprised that he helped her at all.

"Yes, but you'll have to play with me tomorrow, too." Brianna folded her arms and gave him her best serious face. He rolled his eyes and quickly slipped on his shoes.

"Fine. Let's go." He waved to her to follow him as he walked to the front door. Kendall saw him, assumed the worst, and flew into one of her famous rages.

"Wait, Clarence! Are you just going to leave me here to start the Distance and Speed of Rolling Objects Measured from Video Recordings without a hyperactive adrenaline junkie doing the stunts with me recording? When we got paired up, this was the only project you were remotely interested in and I am not going to stand by and do all the work while you are goofing off!" The siblings looked at her with wide eyes.

"Wow. How'd she say all that without taking a breath?"

"Who knows, Bri? Who knows."

"Clarence!" She glared down at him heavily and tapped her foot impatiently. He shifted his weight onto his other foot and rose an eyebrow at her.

"We'll be half an hour. It'll be quick."

"Oh, no. I know you." Here, she walked right up to him, getting in his face and shoving her finger at him. "When you say half an hour you mean the whole day and I am NOT going to waste any time that we have!" She did not budge from her position. He, however, moved her accusing finger away from his face with the back of his hand.

"We can set a timer if you want, it's only thirty minutes!" he snapped. She scowled at him and countered in a snooty voice.

"If it's such a short time, why don't you play with her when we're done?"

"Because Bri's 'Tina Sometimes' will be on then and when it's over it will be too dark out. The best time is now." Brianna perked up at hearing her nickname- if her brother couldn't convince this girl, _she_ would do it. It had been a while since she had thrown a good tantrum.

"Yeah, while you're playing with her, I'll be in here doing all the work setting up our equipment." She paused. "And too dark out to do what, exactly?"

Kick let out a long-suffering sigh. "Why don't you just come outside with us? Bri's talking about playing basketball. It'll go by fast."

Kendall stamped her foot in a huff. "No! We need to work on this!"

"It's thirty minutes! It'll take much longer to get Bri off my case if I don't play with her. She'll bother us for _hours_." He gave his sister a weak glare while Brianna nodded and Kendall had an internal debate.

"Ugh, fine! This better be quick as you say, Clarence!"

He turned to Brianna. "Hey, Bri? What'dya say we play a little HORSE?"

"But we usually play 21!" Brianna was mildly upset and Kendall then piped up in the background.

"Wait, you're under five feet but play basketball?" They ignored her and continued their conversation like nothing happened.

"We won't have time for that with three players. Come on, we barely have time to play. Let's go!" He grabbed both girls by their wrists and pulled them out behind him; they struggled slightly but his strength prevailed.

"Hey, wait! I don't have the proper shoes on!" Kendall protested.

"Just go bare foot, a little synthetic nature never hurt anyone!" he threw over his shoulder, still pulling the girls along.

"Synthetic nature?" she asked skeptically, letting herself be dragged outside.

"Yeah, you know, concrete."

"Concrete isn't nature, Clarence!"

"Yeah, but it's outside and it's like rock and it's probably the closest to nature that you'll ever be, soooo, synthetic nature." They were in the front yard now, and Kick let go of them.

"Hey! I've been hiking before! In real woods! Besides, I'm surprised that you even knew what synthetic meant." She had her hip cocked with her hand resting on it.

He blatantly ignored her as he went to get a basketball from the garage. "The rules of the game are that we each take turns to shoot in an order: Bri goes first, I go second and you go last."

"Why do I have to go last?!"

"Because you're new to this. Now, be quiet and let me finish!"

She slouched for a brief second and crossed her arms. "Humph."

"Since Bri is first, she has to shout out what kind of shot she'll take. And she can make up whatever kind of shot she wants; it doesn't have to be a real thing. If she makes it, then I have to take the same type of shot or I get the letter 'H' (which I won't) and then you have to take the same shot. If everyone makes it, then someone else gets to come up with a new shot."

"Yeah, just don't let Kick pick," Brianna piped up. "He'll want to take the shot from the roof or something and you'll end up hurting yourself trying to mimic his crazy." She rolled her eyes.

"So Brianna isn't the only one who comes up with shots?"

"No." Kick shook his head. "After a full round or if someone misses then the next person in the order gets to make a shot challenge."

"So... Kick is going to end up picking anyway?" Kendall looked to Brianna and raised a delicate eyebrow at the younger girl.

"Yep."

She threw out her arms in exasperation. "Then why did you tell me to stop him?!"

"I was just trying to warn you," Brianna defended. "It's tough to make his crazy shots, even for him. Think you can do it?" She smirked at Kendall.

"Oh. I can do it." The older girl narrowed her eyes at the challenge. The siblings shared a sly glance between each other.

"Kick, dunking ok?" Brianna asked, holding up her arms for the ball.

"Only if you think you can make it, Short Stack." Kick tossed it to her and she caught it easily, glowering at him.

"Oh, shut up! You're like, six inches taller than me, and I'm 4'8!"

"Taller is taller, little sis. Even if it's only six inches." His hands were on his hips and he smirked at her with his eyes half-lidded.

"Focus, you two!" Kendall cut in. "We need to play so the project can get started! Besides, I'm taller than both of you!" She gave them both a nasty grin and they both glared at her, particularly Kick.

"What? Taller is taller, _Clarence_." He rolled his eyes and turned to his sister.

"Ok, Bri, what's the challenge? And tone down the intensity- we have a guest." Brianna had her mouth open to say something then closed it when he said that.

"Hey-!" Kendall cried out.

"So no blocking?"

"Right." Kick nodded.

"How about a simple backwards shot?" Again, he nodded.

"Go," He said and she lined herself up with the hoop, turned around, and threw the ball behind her and made it in with a satisfying _swish_.

"Nice one, Bri! My turn." Kick jogged to get the ball, took his shot, and made it too. He went to get it and tossed it to Kendall.

"You're up."

"Don't 'tone it down' for me, _Clarence_. I can make the shots just as well as you or Brianna," she snipped.

"You can, huh?"

"Yes."

"Have you ever _played_ basketball before?"

"A few times, yes."

"Uh huh. When?"

She grew a bit nervous. "A... While ago. But it doesn't look that hard!"

"If you say so. You hear that, Bri? Time to play HORSE Buttowski style. Go crazy." He turned to her and exaggerated a wink and turned back to Kendall. "Your turn." He winked at her. She glared at him and tried to make the shot, but failed.

"That's an H. Not so _easy_ , is it?"

"Shut it. Here, Brianna. Pick another challenge." Kendall held the ball out to the girl.

"Actually, it's Kick's turn." Brianna grinned cheekily at her.

"Oh," she said as Kick strolled over and took it from her. He set the ball on the ground even with the hoop and backed up slightly.

"Upside down shot," he told the girls and Brianna groaned.

"Oh, no."

"Oh, yes."

"What? What's he doing?"

"You'll see." He placed his feet on either side of the ball, even with the hoop, and got into a handstand. He wobbled for a second before throwing the ball with his legs. The ball hit the rim and rolled in. Kendall stared with wide eyes and Kick had a smug look on his face.

"Want to try that, Kendall?" Brianna asked, already knowing the answer.

"I think that I'll pass, thanks."

"Then that's an 'O' for you."

"You did that on purpose!" she snarled at Kick.

"Uh... Yeah! You get to pick a challenge now, though." He held the ball out to her.

"Grrrr! Fine! I'll do a layup." She snatched the ball from his outstretched hand and turned away from his smug face. She dribbled, spun, and did a layup. The siblings smirked at each other and both were able to do it easily.

"Bri, you're up." Kick told her.

"I'm gonna do a dunk." She ran up and jumped, kicking off a side wall and dunked it. She picked up the ball and twirled it on her finger then tossed it to Kick. "Your turn."

He dunked it easily and gave the ball to Kendall.

"You up for the task, or do you want us to tone it down?" He smirked at her with half-lidded eyes and she snarled at him and took the ball.

"I don't need you to baby me. I can do fine on my own." She tried and failed once again, falling when she tried to kick off the wall.

"That's an 'R," Kick oh-so-helpfully pointed out.

"Remember, Kendall, you can make up any type of shot you want," Brianna reminded her.

"Oh, yeah." An idea popped into her head. If she couldn't beat Clarence in athletics then she would beat him in academics. Her specialty.

"My turn, Kendall," Kick said. "Gonna do a long shot." She threw him the ball and he backed up to the other side of the street and judged the distance carefully. He then hurled the basketball like a shot put and made it.

"Do you want to skip that one? It's hard." Brianna asked.

"It's not any harder than the other ones he's done," Kendall told her in a determined voice.

"The ones that you failed." The way Brianna said it wasn't mocking, but informal.

"I'll get another letter if I skip it or fail it. I want to try."

Kick jogged back up to them. "That's commendable."

"That's a big word for you."

"Yes. Yes it is. Are you gonna go or not?" he asked, giving her the ball. She snatched it from him.

"I'm going, I'm going!" She went across street and hurled it. It hit the garage door a foot off the ground.

"You had nice momentum, but you need more upward thrust. Also, that's an 'S.'" He had the ball by the time she got back to them. She growled at him and took it.

"My turn. Angle shot." Looking at the front of the house, her eyes narrowed as she made a bunch of calculations in her head. When she was done, she threw the ball at a wall- not the wall the goal was on, but the side wall. The basketball bounced off and went cleanly into the basket.

"Not bad, Kendall. Not bad at all." Kick finally complimented her.

"Thank you. Your turn, Brianna." She gave the girl the ball. Brianna hesitated and then threw it, making it, though it hit the rim of the goal first.

"Here, Kick." Brianna tossed it to him. He didn't know how Kendall made that shot, but he suspected it had something to do with dumb luck and her sheer desire to win at everything. He threw the ball at roughly the same spot the girls did, but the ball didn't go through the hoop. In fact, it went right past it and bounced twice before landing in the grass.

"That's an 'H,' Kick," Brianna told him as she went for the ball.

"Yeah, I know."

"Ohh, what's the matter, Clarence?" He glared at Kendall, who was obviously enjoying his failure.

"He's just grumpy because you used your mental ability rather than your physical ability," Brianna commented, running back to them.

"You just can't keep up with my brains." Kendall put her hands on her hips and had a smug grin on her face.

"Yeah, yeah. Your turn, Bri." Kick looked at his sister expectantly.

"Ok, I'm gonna do... Sideways."

"Ohhh, that's a good one, Bri." His eyebrows went up and he whistled a low note.

"Why?" Kendall dropped her smugness for curiosity.

"Because it's harder than it sounds." He cast a sideways glance at her.

"I've been practicing this one like crazy ever since I lost to it that one time."

"Ok, let's see what you've got." Brianna turned sideways and arced her arm over her head, throwing the ball in the process and making it in.

"Nice! You _have_ been practicing!" Kick said, impressed.

"Yeah, now you make it." Brianna thrust the ball in his direction.

"I will." He took it and did the same as Brianna, making it in as well. "Here, Kendall." He tossed her the ball and she caught it. She tried doing what the other two did, but her aim was off and she missed.

"That's an 'E,' Kendall. You're out." Kick said, feeling slightly bad for her.

"Yeah, I know," she said grumpily. Kick picked up the ball and tossed it to Brianna.

"Alright, Bri, I'm done, ok?" He began heading towards the front door with Kendall trailing after him.

" _What_?! We need to play till someone wins!" Brianna was outraged and stomped her foot angrily against the innocent concrete.

"You know how long that'll take, Bri. Kendall and I need to start on our physics project." Kick sighed at his sister's mini tantrum.

"Well... You said half an hour!" She checked her watch. "We still have like, fourteen minutes left!"

"Ok, fine." He rolled his eyes. "We'll see who can make the most baskets in fifteen minutes. Start your stopwatch, Bri. Come on back in, Kendall. We're playing a different game."

"Ugh, fine. But this is the last one." She was a bit annoyed but she would be lying if she said she wasn't having a bit of fun.

"Don't worry, it will be. Right, Bri?" Kick grinned at Brianna.

"Yes," she grumbled.

"Let's play." And they did.

After the fifteen minutes were up, the three went back inside the house. Brianna went to her room and Kick and Kendall went into the living room. Kendall grabbed her video camera and Kick grabbed his trusty skateboard and blades and the two went back outside. They spent the rest of the day working on their physics project, getting along a little better than before and working together with few squabbles.

o0O0o

A/N: And there you have it! The first of four to five chapters of this story. I hope you enjoyed it!

Also, it is perfectly possible to make a basketball shot with your feet. Google "handstand basketball shot" and a video of someone doing that should pop up.

The next chapter should be up in about two weeks or so.


	2. This is Physics, Not Chemistry

This is Physics, Not Chemistry

At around six-thirty, Kick's mother called the two in for a quick dinner. Kendall went inside and Kick followed her soon after with his sports equipment. Kick dumped his skateboard and roller blades next to all their data and made his way to the kitchen where his Mom and Kendall were already talking.

"Wait, so Kick is in the color guard? That's adorable!" Kendall was washing her hands at the kitchen sink while Kick's mother lifted a lid from a pan to check on her pork chops.

"Oh, yes, we're so proud of him! He has so many different activities in his life other than stunts now." His mother turned around and opened a cabinet to grab some seasoning when Kick walked in.

"Oh, do tell." Kendall wiped her hands on a towel to dry them off, sending Kick a cheeky grin.

"Can you give me a hand with this, dear?" Kick's mother gestured to the other pots on the stove, Kendall nodded and checked on the green beans, and his mother continued the conversation. "Well let's see… he's in the color guard (but you already knew that), he's taking dance and violin lessons to help Brianna with her pageants-" Here she broke off, testing to see if the pasta was done.

"My, my! How _does_ he do all that?" Kendall asked, calculating just how much mileage she could get out of all this new information.

"He's also in the school's choir group," his mother added, pulling open the oven door to check on the rolls baking inside.

"Oh, _really_? His schedule must be quite hectic!" Kendall was just eating the information up, ignoring the glare Kick sent her way.

"Oh, Kendall, it is! But he still finds time to play with his little sister! He's such a good kid. Harold and I are so proud." Honey had a huge grin on her face, glad that her son was finally getting along with his siblings.

"How do you have time for stunts with all your extra circulars?" Kendall had turned to him and asked, genuinely curious now.

"I don't do them as often, but pretty much whenever I have free time. Like how I skateboard to school."

"Well, plus you do plenty of stunts and flips and whatnot in your lessons and after-school practices," his mother added.

"Wait. You aren't crazy about stunts anymore?! Who are you and what have you done to Kick Buttowski?"

He chuckled. "Oh, I still am crazy about stunts, my mom just found a way to channel my energy into something 'more productive and less dangerous' as she calls it," he said, using air quotes and rolling his eyes.

"How are you, the kid who was voted most-likely-to-break-every-bone-in-his-body in grade school, now handling a bunch of different activities and playing with your siblings and doing stunts and most importantly keeping up with school work?"

"Well first off, I am really close to accomplishing that prediction. I'm a regular in the emergency room at Mellowbrook Hospital. Second, over the years of having Brianna as a sister, I've learned to be responsible and relatively patient. Plus all the crazy stuff my mom has me doing keeps me out of trouble. Mostly." He grinned at his mother who blew an exasperated sigh.

"What's his brother up to?"

"Oh, Brad is going to be a police officer!" Kendall was genuinely surprised by that and quirked up an eyebrow, glancing at Kick.

"Wow. Really?" Kick nodded and his mother answered her.

"Yes, his girlfriend really set him on the right path. She's very good for him."

"I didn't know he had a girlfriend."

"Yep! They started dating his senior year of high school."

"What year is he now? In college, I mean?" Kendall had taken a seat at the table and Honey had her back to the stove, facing the teens.

"Oh, he's actually graduating this year and then he'll be training to become a police officer for…"

"Six months." Kick piped up next to Kendall.

"Oh, that's right," Kick's mother confirmed.

"I'm impressed!" Kendall directed that comment to Kick, as they both knew Brad's track record with, as he called them, 'The Ladies.'

"Yes, Harold and I were a tad worried about him, but when he started dating Katherine, he really turned his life around. Wouldn't you say, Kick?" Honey turned back around to grab the rolls out of the beeping oven and she set them on the counter to cool.

"Yeah, he actually started bathing regularly." He got up and snatched a roll from the still-hot pan and his mother smacked him playfully on the shoulder as he ducked away with his prize.

"Kick!" she scolded.

He laughed as he took a bite of the warm bread.

"How many times do I have to tell you, wait until dinner's on the table!" He gave her a cheeky grin and she rolled her eyes.

"Aww, but it tastes better stolen! Hey!" She snapped a rolled up dish towel in his direction and they both laughed.

"Don't touch the rolls!" she said, getting into a defensive stance.

"But I must have them!" he responded, mirroring his mother.

"You shall not have them!" she cried, grabbing a discarded rolling pin and brandishing it as her weapon.

"I must!" he wailed dramatically.

"Never!"

They laughed as Kendall looked on at the scene. His mother quickly sobered once the stove timer beeped again.

"Kick, sweetie, go get your sister to come down for dinner, please."

"Sure thing, mom." He snagged another roll on his way out and she went for the towel again.

"Tsk tsk tsk! That little stinker!" his mother went back to preparing dinner when Kick left the kitchen. Kendall watched as he bounded up the stairs and disappeared.

There were a few moments absent of conversation, where the only sounds were the things cooking on the stovetop and the faint rumble of Kick's voice from upstairs.

"A lot of things have changed between those three," Kick's mother said almost dreamily, a far-away look in her eyes as she stared blankly at the boiling pot of pasta.

Kendall cocked her head in curiosity. "What do you mean?"

"When Brad was a junior in high school, those three pushed me too far with their bickering. I was so fed up with it that I finally put my foot down."

"What did you do?"

"I made them play together."

"Play?" Kendall gave Kick's mother a confused look.

"Yes, basketball."

"Wait-! So that's the reason Brianna wanted to play with Kick so badly!" Kendall's jaw dropped at the discovery.

"Oh, they didn't want to at first, but I kept making them play with each other for an hour a day, and eventually they just played on their own. Now Kick plays with Brianna pretty much every chance he gets. It really helps her on the team, too."

"Brianna's on the middle school basketball team?" Kendall asked, eyes wide. Kick's mother nodded.

"Oh, yes! She's very good."

"That's… That's impressive."

"What do you mean?" Honey asked.

"Well, Brianna's very small, but she's able to keep up with all the other players? That's insane."

"Well, yes-" she was cut off by a shrill scream from upstairs.

"MOOOOOM! HE WON'T LET GO OF MEEEEE!" came Brianna's wailing shriek.

"It's _DINNER_ TIME!" she heard Kick shout dramatically and give an evil laugh.

"NOOOOO!" Kick's mother rolled her eyes at the two's antics and went to the stairwell to call up.

"Kids! Come on down!"

There was a pause, the sound of running feet, a couple of thumps, and a shriek. Then-

"Coming!" it was Kick's voice and he came down the stairs with his sister slung over his shoulder. "We're ready!"

"MOOOOOOM!" Brianna whined.

"Kick Buttowski, you put your little sister down," Honey said, exasperated and already walking back towards the kitchen.

"Ok," he said, and dumped Brianna onto the couch.

"KICK!" He ran away laughing and leapt past Kendall, who was standing near the staircase to watch.

"Come on, kids! Dinner's waiting." They sobered and all three went into the kitchen.

"Where's dad?" Kick asked, taking the bowl of noodles his mother handed him and setting it on the table.

"He's working a little late tonight. He should be home in half an hour."

"So he's not eating with us?" Brianna questioned, putting down hot pads, silverware, and napkins.

Honey brought over a shallow bread basket with the rolls inside and placed it on the table. "Not unless he gets here now. I put his plate in the microwave." Brianna brought over the pork chops and the green beans and put them each on a hot pad.

"Oh." They all sat down and said a small prayer of thanks. They got their food and ate in silence for a few minutes.

"So Kick," his mother started, "how's your physics project coming along?"

"Uh… pretty good," he said, chewing on some green beans.

"That's _it_?! You've been working on it all day!" Brianna cut in, an annoyed look on her face.

"We're almost done, Mrs. Buttowski. We have all the data that we need and we made a nice-"

"And over complicated," Kick added and Kendall sent him a glare before continuing like he hadn't interrupted.

"-Video showing our evidence and how we got our results and now all we need to do is finish the poster we're going to present."

"Wow! Impressive, Kendall! I knew it was a good idea when you two got paired up, you always work so well together!" Kick snorted over his plate to hide it and Kendall choked on her words. Brianna just burst out laughing.

"What? What did I say?"

Brianna was about to speak, but she got cut off.

"Mrs. Buttowski, you never told me how Kick balances his busy schedule!" Kendall glared at Bri who was trying (and failing) to not laugh.

"Oh, that's right!" Honey's face brightened and she let the other topic go. She proceeded to talk all about it and they finished dinner, and Kick and Kendall were back in the living room and Brianna was helping her mother clean up, when Kick's father came home.

"Hello! I'm home!" he called, shutting the front door behind him.

"Harold! I'm in the kitchen! And we have a guest!" Honey walked out of the kitchen with Brianna, who sat down on an armchair.

"Kick, is that a _girlfriend_ I see?" Harold asked, stopping just behind the couch.

Brianna fell off the chair laughing.

Kick and Kendall's jaws dropped and they looked back and forth between each other and Kick's parents.

"He's not-!"

"She's not-!"

"I mean-"

"No way-"

"I'd never-"

"I am not _crazy_ -"

"So _not_ in to you!"

"As if I'd ever even thought about it!"

"I'd rather date _Mouth_!" as they started arguing Honey sent Harold a glare.

"I meant it as a joke, I swear!" he said, meanwhile the two were still arguing.

"You're not even in my league!"

"As if you could ever meet _my_ standards!"

"What, being a teacher's pet?"

"Better than being a Detention Doofus!"

"Detention gets you street cred, something you'll never have!"

"Yeah, you need it because you're so short and no one would ever take you seriously!"

" _Excuse_ me?! I am not short, I'm build low to the ground for speed and accuracy!"

"Kiiiiids…!" Honey said reprovingly. She, Brianna, and Harold all went into the kitchen to talk and clean up. Kick and Kendall glared at each other for a minute longer before going back to their project.

"It's not like you could ever compete with me physically anyway," Kick quietly hissed to her, still feeling a bit angry and wanting to take it out on the person who argued with him the most.

"I still did ok in your stupid HORSE game, even when you 'dialed' it up!" she whisper-snarled back.

"Uh..." Kick suddenly looked nervous and focused on the poster they were working on. Kendall gave him a 'really?' look when he dared to meet her eyes again.

"You didn't dial it up, did you?" To his credit, he did look a bit sheepish.

"No."

"Ugh, I can't believe you!" she smacked her forehead and groaned softly.

"Uh, no offence Kendall, but you don't have the practice me and Bri do."

"Bri and I," she absently corrected.

He snorted. "You are such a grammar nazi."

"At least I know how to use it properly."

"Well-!" Here, he faltered, unable to think of a good enough come back. "At least I don't go around correcting people all the time!"

"I wouldn't correct you if you just followed the basic rules of language!" she countered, her voice starting to get a little louder.

"Well one, there are way too many rules in English and two, language changes all the time!" Kick quickly shushed her and gave his rebuttal.

"But it shouldn't change because of your inability to use it correctly," she shot back, her volume toned down again.

Once again, Kick faltered and instead of coming up with a retort, he glared at Kendall. "Let's just finish this stupid project."

"Fine by me," she snipped.

"Humph." They went back to the poster in steely silence. That was soon broken, though.

"No, no. That information should go over here, see?" Kendall pointed to a spot on the poster to the right of where Kick had placed a piece of paper with an equation on it.

"Why?" He looked down at the spot he had picked with mild confusion. He looked back up at her.

"It doesn't fit with the way we recorded the data," she explained. "It should go over with the other equations." She held out a hand for it. "Here, I'll take that, and you can cut out this picture of a skateboard." She handed him the piece of paper and he took it.

Kick replied with a simple, "Ok," and gave her the bit of paper. They continued working in silence when it was once again broken, this time by Kick's mother. She stood in the doorway of the kitchen and the living room, rubbing her hands dry with a dishtowel.

"Kick, don't forget that you have a violin lesson tomorrow at two," she called to him.

"Ok," Kick replied absently, gluing down the skateboard.

"I can't believe Brianna got you to do all these activities just for her pageants and recitals and talent shows." Kendall snickered.

Kick rolled his eyes. "I'm not doing all that stuff just for Brianna, you know."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm doing them for me, too. The dance and the guard help to keep me flexible and strong for my stunts- they also help with endurance and they actually inspire me to try new stunts," he explained.

"What about the singing and orchestra?"

"I started to play violin because my dad threatened that if I didn't take a music course he'd make me help him open his mail."

"And that's… bad?" Kendall quirked an eyebrow at him.

"You've never seen the way he opens his mail." He shuddered and continued, "After about two years I actually decided that I liked it and continued playing."

"And the singing?" she prompted.

"I took choir to prove something to someone."

"What? That guys can take a 'girly' class and still be really good?"

"While I appreciate the complement, no. I wanted to prove to them that I was more than just a dumb jock. That was actually the second new thing that I got involved in. First was violin. I started taking choir and dance classes soon after. Then I got into guard my freshman year."

"Hmm," was all Kendall could think to say. She glued on the last bit of information to the poster and proudly held it up. "What do you think?" she asked.

"I think we're done," he said.

"I think you're right," she agreed.

"Thank goodness." He flopped onto his back and breathed out a sigh of relief as Kendall wrote their names on the back of the poster. He looked back up when Kendall threw her marker at him. "What? I thought we were done."

"I'm going to need help cleaning up," she said as she stood up. Kick just groaned, rolled over onto his stomach, and pushed himself into a sitting position. Glancing at the back of the poster, he stopped and did a double take.

"Did you _really_ have to write my real name on this thing? Everybody but you calls me Kick."

o0O0o

When the two presented their project on Monday, they were heavily congratulated on an amazing job and received an A-plus as their overall grade. They did such a good job, in fact, that their physics teacher actually held them both after class to talk.

"You two did such a wonderful job on your project. Is it all right if I keep it to show as an example for my other classes?" he asked hopefully.

"It's fine with me. I'm glad you like it so much," Kendall said. Their teacher nodded and looked at Kick for his response.

"I don't care." He shrugged and Kendall snorted.

"Of course you don't."

"It's not like I was going to keep it, Kendall," Kick snapped. Their teacher quickly interrupted before the two could start another argument.

"Thank you, you two. I really appreciate it."

Kendall smiled. "You're welcome, sir." With that, they both walked out of the classroom and each went to their next class.

A/N: Kudos to anyone who caught the Disney reference I threw in there.

The next chapter will be up in about a week.


	3. Finding the Problem

I don't own Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil.

Enjoy!

In this one, Kick and his friends (and Kendall) are seniors and Brianna is in eighth grade. This takes place at the tail end of November/ beginning of December. **It's** **about** **a** **year** **and** **eight** **months** **after** **the** **physics** **project.**

o0O0o

Finding The Problem

Brianna Buttowski walked into her family's living room, looking for her second-oldest brother. She spied him lying on the couch watching wrestling with the volume down low and doing his economics homework. "Kick?"

He didn't look up from his book and wrote down some notes in his notebook. "Yeah?"

"You know that I have a talent show coming up, right?" She leaned her elbows on the back of the couch and looked down at him.

"Nope." She let her face fall into her 'grumpy face.'

"Well, I have a talent show coming up."

"When?" he asked, sketching out a quick graph.

"In three weeks. It's during Winter break."

"Kay, what'dya need for this one?"

"I need two people to dance and sing up there with me."

"So bring some friends." He turned a page in the textbook.

"I can't. All my friends are busy or are also in the show."

"So you want me and Gunther to do it with you?" he guessed.

"No, not Gunther." She shook her head, even though he couldn't see it.

He finally put his pencil down and flipped to his side to look up at her. "Why? He knows how to dance. And… sort-of sing."

"He's big and clumsy and trips over his own feet. He's too hard to work with," she said as she examined her nails.

"Oh yeah, then who do you want to dance with us?"

"Kendall."

Kick's jaw dropped. " _Kendall_? As in Kendall _Perkins_? The same girl who shoves her intelligence in my face every chance she gets? The same girl who is such a suck up that she could vandalize the whole school and not get in trouble? The girl who has been my sworn enemy since before we met? _That_ Kendall Perkins?!"

She answered with a simple, "Yes. That Kendall Perkins."

Kick groaned loudly and flipped back over to plant his forehead into his textbook.

"Oh, come on. It won't be that bad."

"Yes it will." His answer was slightly muffled by the book.

"It won't kill you." She rolled her eyes.

"Yes it will." She smirked as she remembered something.

"You seemed to get along pretty well with her in science last year."

"It was physics, and that was a one-time thing." he said, his face still buried in the book.

"I seem to remember you and her working well together before physics. Was that a one-time thing too?"

"Yes."

She groaned. "You are impossible!"

"I don't want to dance at a talent show with Kendall!" He looked up from the book and scowled at her.

"You'll have to sing, too."

His head flopped down into his awaiting hands. "Great, just one more thing Kendall can make fun of me about."

"Since when do you care what people say about you?" Brianna asked in her most skeptical tone of voice.

"I care when what they say can ruin my rep!" Kick snapped back, looking pointedly at his textbook but not reading anything.

She narrowed her eyes at him, "Oooor, you care about what Kendall thinks because you like her."

He sat up and narrowed his eyes at her and frowned. "Excuse me?"

"Don't worry, Kick. Girls like guys who can dance and sing," she smirked.

"I don't like Kendall. We _hate_ each other," he ground out, his eyes boring into hers.

She clasped her hands together and brought them up to her chest. "Your mouth says hate but your heart says love."

He rolled his eyes and changed the subject. "Why'd you pick _Kendall_ anyway?"

"I need someone graceful who knows how to dance at a talent show."

He opened his mouth to interrupt.

"Along with you."

His mouth snapped shut.

"Please, Kick?" she asked, giving him her best puppy eyes.

"I don't want to dance with Kendall." He said firmly. Bri was slightly worried that she wouldn't be able to convince him. Slightly.

"Why not? You've danced with her before, right?"

"Yes."

"Then why won't you dance with her now?" Kick looked like he was waiting to get this off his chest for quite a while.

"She's so hard to get along with- let alone work with! She's always shoving her smarts in my face and getting on my case at every. Little. _Thing_."

"What do you mean 'shoving her smarts in your face'?" She gave him an inquisitive gaze.

"Just like what I said."

"Elaborate, please."

Kick just stared at her blankly.

"Explain what you mean!" she said, exasperated.

"Oh. She's always pushing her A-plusses in my face and talking about some award she's earned. I want her to stop acting like she's the greatest thing that's ever set foot on the planet."

"And you fight with her, right?"

"Duh."

"What do you say to her?"

"You know, just how I'm better than her at everything but learning."

She gaped at him. "Your cluelessness strikes again."

"What?" He was taken aback.

"She insults your lacking intelligence –" She ignored his indignant "Hey!" – "Because it makes her feel better about herself."

"What do you mean?"

"You're super athletic and are bound to get into a good college with your skills alone, but she has to work very hard to get and keep good grades. She probably studies 24-7 to get the crazy grades that she's got, and to get into a good secondary school."

"Ok, so she's smarter than me. Everyone knows that. Why does she constantly need to shove it into my face?"

"To _bump_ _up_ _her_ _self_ _esteem_. You always tell her you're _better_ than her? She shoves her hard work in your face because high intelligence is something you severely lack."

"Hey! I'm smart when it comes to stunts or-"

"Something athletic? Kick, you've got looks, talent, and friends. What does Kendall have?"

"A filthy rich father, a know-it-all boyfriend, and good grades," he said flatly.

"Yeah, and _no_ _friends_. She tries to bring you down so she can feel like she can one-up you. To her, you have it all, and you didn't lift a finger to get it."

"What?! I practically kill myself performing my stunts and I have to put _hours_ of work into my other classes to pull a C!"

"Yes, but she doesn't see it that way, Kick. She's been busting her butt and the only reward she's gotten is the reputation of being a know-it-all goody two-shoes snitch, where you have the reputation of being a kick-butt athlete who's handsome and friendly and hyper and also does crazy awesome stunts in your free time. The fact that you remind her of all that really hurts her feelings and she's _trying_ to prove to you that she's _just_ as good as you are."

"How come she never said anything?"

"Because you're both as stubborn as mules and you're both blinded by your pride and gigantic egos! She wouldn't let you even _think_ that she was insecure, about _anything_ , because it would give you a leg up on mocking her! And I bet a _years_ worth of chores that you didn't let her know about your insecurities either!"

A look of dawning realization came to his face and Bri smiled. "You get it now, right?"

He nodded. "All those years… all that fighting… just because of one little misunderstanding?"

"Honestly? I think there's more to it than that, but yes, that was the primary problem. And now you can fix it if you swallow your pride and talk to her." He nodded again and was lost in thought. At least before Brianna brought him back to Earth.

"So… have you made up your mind?" she asked, pretty sure she already knew the answer.

"Yes," he grumbled, arms lightly crossed over his chest.

"So will you ask her?"

"To dance in the talent show?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yes."

"Fine."

"Ooooh, thanks, Kick!" She reached down and hugged him.

He muttered something under his breath about pushy younger sisters and went back to his homework as she flounced away.

A/N: The next chapter will be up in a week.


	4. Sort-Of Solving the Problem

Sort-Of Solving The Problem

I own nothing.

o0O0o

"Let me get this straight, you want me to perform in a talent show with you and your sister?" Kendall asked, hip cocked and a look of disbelief evident on her pretty face. They were in a hallway in the Mellowbrook high school, standing next to Kendall's open locker.

Kick remembered his talk with his little sister, who was surprisingly perceptive for her age, but was having an incredibly hard time keeping his pride on the shelf and forced himself to grind out his answer. "Yes."

"Why does she want me?"

"She needs another person besides me. I'm usually her partner."

"Ha ha! Hahahahaha! You're a pageant boy! Ha aha haha!" Kendall was doubled over in her laughter, one hand holding her AP textbooks and the other one on her knee to support herself.

"Actually, it's a talent show," he said in a clipped tone of voice.

Kendall just kept laughing and his cheeks burned in rage.

"It's for my sister! She needs _two_ people up there with her and she wants me and you! It wasn't _my_ idea, but she was very adamant that you were with us!" he retorted, some of his frustration coming out.

Kendall straightened up and raised an eyebrow. "Wow, I didn't know you even knew what 'adamant' meant."

Kick crossed his arms and took a slow, calming breath before he explained, "I _do_ listen to you, you know. When you're rubbing in your good grades and using dictionary language to try and confuse me. I look up some of the words that I remember later so I'll know what they mean the next time you talk to me."

"I get you to study without realizing it? That's impressive, even by my standards." Kendall gave him a smirk.

"I do study!" he snapped.

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I can tell by your straight C average."

"Hey, I have to study like crazy to get those C's!"

Kendall frowned at him. "No, you don't, _Clarence_!" She jabbed a finger close to his face and went on, "If you worked a little harder instead of just being a slacker, I'm sure you'd get better grades. You spend so much time doing stunts and extracurriculars that you just skip on your schoolwork!"

Kick was fuming, his hands curling into fists at his sides. He wanted to shout at her and get into one of their vicious arguments, but he and Brianna still needed her to perform with them. Plus, that wouldn't fix the feud between them. He calmed his breathing down like his instructors had taught him in his dance class and forced himself to see from Kendall's perspective. She didn't know how hard he actually worked. She really thought that he was a slacker. What he said to her all the time hurt her just as much as what she said to him.

"Kendall," he said in the calmest voice he could muster and she looked surprised. "I _do_ work hard for those grades, ok? Learning things isn't as easy for me as they are for you. If I didn't study the way I do now, I'd probably be failing all my core classes."

She looked flabbergasted and didn't really know what to say.

"Wow, Kendall Perkins speechless? That's impressive, even by my standards." He gave her a small smile.

"Your sister really wants me in her show, huh?" Her features softened as what Kick said sank in.

"My sister _always_ gets what she wants." He sounded a little bit bitter and Kendall nodded.

"I'll do it."

"Really?"

"Yeah." She shut her locker with a 'snap' and Kick smiled at her, really smiled, and she smiled back. Then he brought a fist up to cough lightly into it and things suddenly got very uncomfortable.

They stood there awkwardly, shuffling their feet and looking very out of place.

"Soooo… when should I be over?" Kendall asked, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"I don't know." Kick rubbed the back of his neck. "I'll… uh, text you?"

Kendall nodded quickly, looking away. "Um, yeah… that sounds… good."

"So… I'll see you later."

"Yeah, see ya."

They quickly went separate ways.

"Well, that was awkward," Kick grumbled to himself. "At least she agreed to help."

"Help with what?" a voice said to his right.

"Huh?" Kick whirled around and saw Gunther coming towards him.

"Who are we talking about?" Gunther asked.

"Oh. My sister has another talent show and she needs two people to dance and sing with her."

"Oh! Can I help?"

Kick grimaced and tried to break the news gently to his friend. "Bri said she didn't need your specific style of the performing arts."

Unfortunately, Gunther saw right through him. "You mean she thinks I'm too clumsy?"

Kick nodded. "Yeah."

"Fair enough. Who's going to dance with you two?" The boys made their way down the hallway.

"Kendall."

"Kendall _Perkins_?" Gunther's jaw dropped in shock.

"Yeah." Kick shuddered involuntarily.

"Brianna picked her?"

"Yep."

"And I'm guessing she got you to ask her?"

"Uh huh."

"And she said yes?"

"Surprising, right?" Kick said flippantly.

"Yeah." They were silent for a bit, then Gunther turned and exclaimed, "I _knew_ you liked her!"

" _What_?!" Kick stopped walking and gaped at his friend, who just gave him a grin.

"I knew you liked Kendall!" Gunther repeated.

"Shhhh!" Kick flapped his hand at his best friend and whispered, "I do not!"

"Do too!"

"No, I don't!"

"You flirt with her every time you see her!" Gunther crossed his arms and had a smug look on his face from his 'good point.'

"You have a weird idea of what flirting is. We _fight_ every time we see each other. That is not flirting," Kick insisted.

"That's what they do in the old country." His friend just shrugged.

"Of course it is." Kick ran a hand down his face. "Gunther. We are not flirting. We do not flirt. We do not _like_ each other. At all."

Gunther put a hand to his chin and thought. "You seem to get along well when you work together."

Kick snorted. "That's because we _have_ to to get a good grade." The two began walking again.

"If you hate each other so much and can't stand each other, why did she agree to perform at Brianna's talent show?"

"Um… well, we sort of…" He trailed off and mumbled something.

"What was that?"

"We kind of… made up. I guess." Kick shrugged and looked away, embarrassed.

"Made up?"

"Yeah. We realized that there was a misunderstanding between us. Now I guess we're fixing it."

"Kick, that's great!" Gunther beamed.

Kick was a little doubtful. "You really think so?"

"Yeah! Making up with Kendall shows a level of maturity I never knew you had!" his friend said, impressed.

"Gee, thanks." Kick rolled his eyes.

"I'm serious, Kick. This will be really good for you. If you two manage to pull this off, you can overcome _years_ of hate and gain a new friend. She could seriously help you improve your grades!"

"But I-"

"I know how hard you work for those, Kick. I'm just saying that she could help you study and maybe boost your C plusses to B plusses."

"You sound like my mom." Kick snorted.

"Sorry. What have you got planned for your next stunt?"

"Well, I was going to go down Dead Man's Drop on a cafeteria tray, but I'm going to be busy with practice for Bri's talent show. Do you want to help?"

"I thought your sister didn't want me to help," Gunther pointed out as the two walked into their next class, math.

"She didn't want you dancing or singing, but you could help with music and props and costumes," Kick offered.

"I can do that!" Gunther said happily.

"Great! Come hang out after school. You can help when we start to practice."

"Ok." The two boys took their seats just as the late bell rang and the lesson began.

A/N: Next chapter will be up in a week


	5. Hatred Between These Two Goes Splat

Hatred Between These Two Goes Splat

o0O0o

At three o'clock the final school bell rang, dismissing students from their classrooms. Two of those students, Kick and Gunther to be precise, headed out to the senior parking lot. They got into their cars and drove to Kick's house where they hung out until Brianna came home. The middle school got out later than the high school did, so it was about a forty-minute wait.

She came in fuming, slamming the door and stomping her feet as she walked.

"What's wrong?" Kick asked, not looking away from the TV.

"Ashley Nicolson!" she snarled, walking into the living room and flinging her books onto an armchair.

"What'd she do now?" He rolled his eyes.

"She! She! - " she stuttered, her hands flailing and her face red with rage.

"Yes…?" Kick prompted, finally looking up from the show he and Gunther were watching.

"She knocked my books from my hands and kicked my backpack and- and- and- told me _in_ _front_ _of_ _my_ _friends_ that my dancing wasn't in time and that my singing was off-key and that I had _no_ _chance_ at performing well at the show!"

"Oh, come on, Bri. You can perform circles around that girl. Why are you letting her get to you?"

"Because I _hate_ her!" she seethed. "She's such a high and mighty little jerk- someone needs to take her down a peg!"

"Remind me again why you hate her so much? Is it just because she beat you last year?"

"No! People keep saying that contest was rigged, but that doesn't even matter! Ever since she moved here she's been out to get me! She thinks she can push me around because I'm smaller than everybody else! She acts all cute and innocent because she's got a pretty face and she gets away with almost everything! She _took_ the guy I was almost dating for _herself_! Right under my nose! How could she _possibly_ get him so quickly? She moved here a _year_ ago! I've known him since _kindergarten_!"

"I'm surprised you hadn't made a move yet."

"I was _trying_ to get closer to him first! And it was working. At least until that little she-devil showed up and ripped him away from me with her greedy little claws!"

"Wow," was all he said. He glanced over to her. "Feel better?"

She took a deep breath to calm herself down, "Whew. I needed that, felt great to get that off my chest. Thanks for listening to me, Kick."

"Uh-huh."

"And speaking of the talent show, let's get started! Did you get Kendall to agree to help?"

"Yeah. Lemme just text her to come over." He pulled out his phone and sent his message. Then he glanced up and found Brianna staring at Gunther in confusion and he explained, "Gunther's here to help with behind the scenes stuff, by the way."

"Oh, ok," was all she said.

o0O0o – Singing Practice

"Gah! Cut, cut, cut!" Gunther cried, covering his ears. The three people in front of him stopped singing and looked at him expectantly.

"What's wrong now?" Brianna asked, her patience wearing thin. "I know you have a really good ear, but is it truly necessary to stop us every five seconds?"

"It is if you want to win," he said. That shut her up quick.

"What is it, Gunther?" Kick asked, shuffling the music on his stand.

"Kick, you're overpowering these two a bit. You're the lower harmony, Kendall is the upper harmony and Brianna is the melody."

"I know that. I'll tone it down, then."

"Good. Kendall, I know you haven't been singing as long as these two have, but you need to _listen_ and be aware of them so you can harmonize properly."

"Ok."

"Brianna, you're still a little too soft. Sing out more, melody girl."

"Yeah, I know. I'm working on it."

"Ok, ready?" They all nodded, so he tapped out four beats and they started singing a little better than before. This time, they got seven measures further before he stopped them again.

o0O0o – Dancing Practice

"Ok, guys, let's try that again. Starting positions!" Gunther called out, turning off the music. He watched as Kick, Kendall, and Brianna ran back to their beginning set and got into their poses. "One, two, one two three four." He tapped out the counts and pressed play on the stereo. The music started playing and the three began their movements. They had been practicing together at their usual dance studio every day over winter break for about a week. They already had the first part of the performance memorized; they just needed to perfect it.

Part of the choreography required a base to lift up the two other people. That person just so happened to be Kick. At first, Kendall had been reluctant to let him hold her, even though she knew he could do it quite easily. He was just so _short_. So _petite_. Both the siblings were. Even though they had been practicing for a week, she was still very uncomfortable when he did lift her.

As they reached that part of the routine, Brianna spun off around them and Kick moved into place behind her. She got into position and he lifted her. As he was holding her, he whispered up to her.

"Hey, you need to relax. You're kinda throwing me off balance."

In response, she muttered something under her breath. He set her down and made a slicing motion to Gunther, who turned off the music.

Brianna piped up before Kick could say anything, "Hey, I don't know what it is, but there's something off about the way you two interact when he's holding you, Kendall."

Kick turned to Brianna, motioned to him and Kendall, and said, "We need a minute to talk."

"Ok." With that, Brianna walked over to Gunther to get a critique on how she did.

"Hey, what's the problem?" Kick asked her in a low tone. "You need to loosen up, this didn't used to be this hard for you."

"Sorry… I'm just not quite used to this yet." Kendall awkwardly rubbed her arm and looked away.

"But we've danced together before. We were doing way more complicated stuff than we're doing right now."

"I know. It's just…" She closed her eyes and huffed out a breath. "You're smaller than me."

"So?"

"I'm six inches taller than you! I'm kinda afraid you'll drop me." He opened his mouth to protest, but she wasn't done. "I know you won't, at least not on purpose, but it's hard not to tense up when you lift me. The last time I had a dance partner lift me was my sophomore year and they dropped me and I hurt my ankle. I couldn't perform and someone else had to take my place."

"I guess we'll just need more practice," he said after a pause.

"That's another reason, I'm used to being a solo act or just not being lifted. I haven't had a partner lift me in a long time. I'll try harder next time to relax."

"Good." He smiled. "It's harder to balance and move when you're all stiff like that." She nodded and the two went back to the group practice.

o0O0o

Kick and Kendall were on the couch watching TV and Gunther was laying on the floor, as they had just gotten finished with their second-to-last practice, and Brianna was excitedly talking about their performance.

"Didn't you _feel_ it guys? We were on _fire_ these last few practices! We are going to win!

"We're definitely at our peak. There's always room for improvement, but we are crazy good," Kendall agreed.

o0O0o

The night they went on, Kick and Kendall were in their costumes and stretching on the living room floor; Gunther was sitting on the couch looking over the routine one last time. The TV was on but turned down low and the three were waiting for Brianna to finish dressing in her room.

"Time for makeup!" Brianna called down the stairs, waving a makeup kit and hopping down the steps.

"Wait, what?" Kick asked, his head popping up from where he was doing the splits.

"Makeup. For the show," Kendall clarified for him, standing up and walking over to the kitchen to grab a chair.

Kick snorted, pulling his legs back underneath him and flopping on his back to loosen up his torso. "Forget that, I'm not wearing any makeup!"

"Oh, really?" Kendall narrowed her eyes at him and put her hands on her hips. Kick stood up and crossed his arms in defiance.

"Really. I am not wearing that junk."

"Kick, must we do this every time?" Brianna said, exasperated.

"Wait, he already knows he has to wear it?" Kendall asked, eyes wide.

Brianna rolled her eyes at her older brother. "Yeah. He makes a big deal out of it every time."

Kendall strengthened her stance and said, "Kick, we all have to wear makeup in the show and I swear I will wrestle you into that chair if I have to." They stared each other down as Brianna and Gunther waited to see what happened.

Five minutes later Kick was grumpily sitting in the chair as Kendall gently applied makeup to his face.

"Cut out the scowling, this stuff needs to be spread on evenly or I have to start over." He let his scowl droop with a sigh as Kendall brushed more stuff onto his skin.

o0O0o

"You nervous, Bri?" Kick asked right before they went on stage. He reached up to scratch his face and Kendall smacked his hand away so he wouldn't ruin the makeup.

"A little."

"Don't worry, we'll show 'em how it's done." She smiled at him and turned to watch Ashley's group. Their routine was well put together and their performance was at the top of their game. Brianna swallowed nervously.

Kick then turned to Kendall, who was watching them too. "What about you? Are you nervous?"

She looked at him and smirked. "We've got this in the bag."

o0O0o

"And the winner is… Team Buttowski-Perkins!

All their faces broke out into huge grins; they could see Gunther jumping up and down in the audience enthusiastically. In the heat of the moment Kendall threw herself at Kick for a hug. He hugged her back and even spun her around before they came to their senses and awkwardly let go. Brianna sent the smuggest grin to Ashley's group (particularly Ashley) and accepted the first place trophy.

After the awards were over the small group was in the lobby meeting up with people and getting congratulated. Kick pulled Kendall aside and asked,

"You want to, uh… hang out tomorrow?"

"Sure… what do you want to do?"

He grinned at her. "Wanna play basketball?" She smiled back and nodded.

o0O0o

A/N: The final chapter will be up on New Year's Eve.


	6. Epilogue

Epilogue

I own nothing.

o0O0o – A New Year's Party

Laughter filled the air as people milled about inside the Perkins' residence. The family was having a New Year's Eve party and had invited the Buttowskis and other close friends over. Kick and Kendall were sitting next to each other on the couch, both with hot coco and mini marshmallows while they watched The Polar Express. The others, including Brad and his girlfriend, were captivated by the movie or just simply talking and having a good time while the two teenagers kept sneaking oh-so-subtle glances at each other.

Kendall's parents eventually called all the guests to the small buffet they had set up in the kitchen. The movie was paused as everyone, with the exception of Kick and Kendall, went to get some food. With everyone distracted, Kendall seized the opportunity and whispered for Kick to come with her. She stood up and grabbed her coat from the coat rack, Kick following behind her, and opened the back door of her house to step outside into the frigid night air.

The moon was on the last quarter of its phase and the falling snow drifted around them and gathered in their hair as they stood silently. Finally, Kick spoke. "Why did you bring me out here?"

Kendall rubbed her hands together self-consciously; she should have worn gloves. "I wanted to talk to you. In private, I mean. It's… uh… way too crowded in there, ya know?"

"Yeah." Again, they stood in silence. "What did you want to talk about?"

"You… Us... This… what ever is going on with you and me!" she said, flustered and waving her arms wildly to try to make her point.

"I don't understand."

"Don't tell me you haven't noticed it! Ever since we made up, things have been… different between us. Different in a good way."

"Yeah, we don't hate each other anymore. We're actually friends now." He smiled, gazing out at the snow-covered yard.

"Yes. Good friends. _Very_ good friends," she said, watching his reaction and stepping a bit closer to him. "Now that we've had time to get to know each other on friendly ground, we've grown close. Close enough…" Here she took a deep breath. "…to be more?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, pointedly staring straight ahead as his heart fluttered. If she was thinking what he thought she was…

"Kick, I really-" Another shuddering breath. "- _really_ like you. Especially nowadays."

" _Like_ as in romantically… right?" He looked up at her. His eyes, full of both hope and fear, reflected the light of the moon and sparkled beautifully.

In a split second, Kendall made a decision, as she was a very decisive girl- and stepped forward and bent down to press a soft kiss upon his mouth. Kick didn't respond, as he was a little too surprised, a little too inexperienced, a little too shy at the wrong moment. Though, his chin had been tilted up just enough for her to reach and he didn't pull away, so Kendall counted that as a win.

"I… what about Ronaldo?" he asked once he could use his mouth again.

"He and I… broke up a while ago," she said quietly, slipping her fingers between his. Her excuse, though she didn't think she needed one, was that it was snowing outside and she forgot her gloves.

"Really?"

She loved the way his eyelashes caught the delicate flakes that floated down from the sky. "Yeah. It just… wasn't working out."

"Oh." He said softly, "What if we don't work out?" She could hear the wavering fear in his voice and she brushed his cheek with the icy tips of the fingers on her other hand.

"We'll never know if we don't try, right?" She smiled softly at him while his mind was in a panic.

She was only two weeks older than him, but he was still scared. She was so much more mature than him; what if he did something unforgivingly stupid? He did that surprisingly often. She had actually had a romantic relationship before, unlike him. Oh, he had had affections for the opposite sex before, but those were barely more than crushes that he had never acted on. People would've called him crazy if they knew, but he was always focused on other things, like stunts and school and family. This wasn't another one of his stunts that he could practice over and over again. Mess this up, and it was over. He had no clue how to be in a romantic relationship. While she was obviously willing to give him a chance, how long would she be able to deal with him? She would grow tired of him soon and they would revert to their old ways- hating each other.

He prayed that that would never happen again.

"Well? What do you say? Want to give us a try?"

"I…" He felt so disoriented. Usually he was strong, unflappable, and unreadable. Now he was a stuttering, nervous mess. "I don't know!" he said, pulling his hand from hers. A flash of hurt crossed her face but disappeared quickly. "I know we have chemistry… we always have, even when we were enemies. I _would_ like to... to date you. But I've never… dated anyone before. I don't know how."

Kendall's expression relaxed. He wasn't rejecting her; he was just nervous. Nervous she could handle. "Take it from me, Kick," she said in a soothing voice, "dating may not be the easiest thing to handle, but it's a wonderful, wonderful thing. And don't worry about not knowing how to be in a relationship- it's a learning experience for both parties. What worked for Ronaldo and me won't be the same for what works for you and me, but I promise you, it'll be worth it. As long as we're both willing to try, that is." She slowly held out the hand he had let go of. He took it.

"Ok."

"Ok?" There was a hopeful note in her voice that made him smile.

"Let's… try dating." A huge grin split her face and she leaned down for another kiss. Though a bit hesitant at first, he did kiss her back this time, their arms curling around each other to just hold close and be warm. Kick found that he rather enjoyed the closeness and the gentle pressure of her mouth against his and let himself lose track of time. After a while they noticed that the snow was falling thicker and faster than before. They went back inside to further enjoy the cheer of the holiday season with their friends and family.

o0O0o

Winter break was now over and the kids were back in school. They had been back for about two weeks and Kick already had a project in Spanish due in a few days. And he was having major trouble with it.

He opened his locker and tossed his Spanish textbook inside, grabbing his government book while he was at it. Kendall came up to him, as they had the same government class together, and stood by his locker.

"How's the project in Spanish coming?"

He sighed heavily at the mention of the assignment. "Not good. I'm having trouble with it."

"Do you want to grab a coffee after school and I'll help you work on it?"

"Only if you let me give you another lesson in skateboarding." He smirked.

She shuddered a little at a previous memory that involved a vicious little runt of a dog, a tree that popped up out of nowhere, and a three-foot deep bank of snow.

"I don't _have_ to help you, you know," she snorted.

"True," he said, shutting his locker with a snap, "But you will, anyway, right?"

She mock-glared at him. "Oh, yeah? Why's that?"

He grinned at her. "Because you love me? Because I'm awesome? Because I'm…"

Anything else he would have added was muffled by her hand over his mouth. "Fine, I'll help you. But you buy the coffee."

"Deal," he said, and they walked hand in hand to government.

o0O0o

A/N: That concludes the story, I hope you enjoyed it!


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